Disk roll and base material thereof

ABSTRACT

A base material for a disk roll including ceramic fibers, an inorganic binder and scaly silica.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a disk roll suited for the production of plateglass and a base material thereof.

BACKGROUND ART

Plate glass is produced by continuously supplying to an apparatus aglass melt, allowing the glass melt to be flown down from the apparatusin the form of a belt, and curing by cooling during the flowing. Diskrolls act as a pair of tensile rolls and are used to hold the belt-likeglass melt therebetween and forcedly send it downward.

In addition to the above-mentioned down-draw method, the plate-shapedglass can be produced by the float method, the roll-out method, theColburn method, or the like. Glass plate produced by any of theabove-mentioned methods requires an annealing process in order to removestrain by heat. A disk roll, serving as a roller, is used to convey theglass plate during this annealing process.

In general, a disk roll is obtained by fitting by insertion to a shaft(served as a rotation shaft) a plurality of disks obtained by punching amill board (plate-like molded product, base material) in the form of aring to obtain a roll-like stack, and applying a pressure to the entirestack through flanges provided at both ends. The outer peripheralsurface of the disks functions as the conveying surface of a glass melt.

Since a disk roll conveys a glass melt for a long period of time, it isrequired to have not only heat resistance but also wear resistance,flexibility for protecting the glass surface from scratches, andhardness. Disk rolls containing heat-resistant inorganic fibers, micaand clay are known (Patent Documents 1 to 3). Further, a disk roll usinga filler other than mica is also known (Patent Document 4).

RELATED ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents

-   Patent Document 1: JP-T-2010-510956-   Patent Document 2: JP-A-2009-132619-   Patent Document 3: JP-A-2004-299980-   Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent No. 4920118

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, glass containing mica may be scratched easily. Further, inrespect of variation or substitutability of the raw materials,production of a disk roll without using mica as an essential componenthas been desired. Patent Document 4 discloses a disk roll containingalumina (sphere) or the like, but it has poor wear resistance.

The invention is aimed at providing, without using mica as an essentialcomponent, a disk roll having well-balanced wear resistance and changepercentage of outer diameter, and a base material thereof.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the following basematerial for a disk roll or the like are provided.

1. A disk roll base material comprising ceramic fibers, an inorganicbinder and scaly silica.2. The disk roll base material according to 1, wherein the scaly silicais a secondary aggregate in which the scaly silica is piled in parallelwith each other or a tertiary aggregate in which a plurality of thesecondary aggregates are aggregated.3. The disk roll base material according to 1 or 2, which comprises:

30 to 50 wt % of the ceramic fibers;

5 to 50 wt % of the inorganic binder; and

5 to 50 wt % of the scaly silica.

4. The disk roll base material according to any of 1 to 3, wherein theinorganic binder is kibushi clay and bentonite.5. The disk roll base material according to any of 1 to 4, wherein theceramic fibers comprise 40 wt % or more and 99 wt % or less of aluminaand 60 wt % or less and 1 wt % or more of silica.6. The disk roll base material according to any of 1 to 5, wherein theceramic fibers comprise 70 wt % or more and 80 wt % or less of aluminaand 30 wt % or less and 20 wt % or more of silica.7. The disk roll base material according to any of 1 to 6, which furthercomprises pulp and starch.8. A method for producing the disk roll base material according to anyof 1 to 7, comprising:

preparing slurry that comprises ceramic fibers, an inorganic binder andscaly silica; and

molding the slurry and drying a molded product.

9. A disk roll that is produced from the base material according to anyof 1 to 7.10. The disk roll according to 9 that has a Shore D hardness of 30 to 70and a density of 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³.11. A method for producing a disk roll comprising:

forming a plurality of ring-shaped disks from the base materialaccording to any of 1 to 7;

fitting by insertion the plurality of disks to a shaft to obtain aroll-like stack; and

compressing the stack from the both ends by means of a fixture to fixthe stack.

12. A method for producing glass comprising:

conveying a glass melt by using the disk roll according to 9 or 10; and

cooling the glass melt.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the following diskroll base material or the like are provided.

1. A disk roll base material comprising ceramic fibers, an inorganicbinder and scaly alumina.2. The disk roll base material according to 1, wherein the scaly aluminais a secondary aggregate in which the scaly alumina is piled in parallelwith each other or a tertiary aggregate in which a plurality of thesecondary aggregates are aggregated.3. The disk roll base material according to 1 or 2, which comprises:

30 to 50 wt % of the ceramic fibers;

5 to 50 wt % of the inorganic binder; and

5 to 50 wt % of the scaly alumina.

4. The disk roll base material according to any of 1 to 3, wherein theinorganic binder is kibushi clay and bentonite.5. The disk roll base material according to any of 1 to 4, wherein theceramic fibers comprise 40 wt % or more and 99 wt % or less of aluminaand 60 wt % or less and 1 wt % or more of silica.6. The disk roll base material according to any of 1 to 5, wherein theceramic fibers comprise 70 wt % or more and 80 wt % or less of aluminaand 30 wt % or less and 20 wt % or more of silica.7. The disk roll base material according to any of 1 to 6, which furthercomprises pulp and starch.8. A method for producing the disk roll base material according to anyof 1 to 7, comprising:

preparing slurry that comprises ceramic fibers, an inorganic binder andscaly alumina; and

molding the slurry and drying a molded product.

9. A disk roll that is produced from the base material according to anyof 1 to 7.10. The disk roll according to 9 that has a Shore D hardness of 30 to 70and a density of 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³.11. A method for producing a disk roll comprising:

forming a plurality of ring-shaped disks from the base materialaccording to any of 1 to 7;

fitting by insertion the plurality of disks to a shaft to obtain aroll-like stack; and

compressing the stack from the both ends by means of a fixture to fixthe stack.

12. A method for producing glass comprising:

conveying a glass melt by using the disk roll according to 9 or 10; andcooling the glass melt.

According to the invention, it is possible to provide, without usingmica as an essential component, a disk roll having well-balanced wearresistance and change percentage of outer diameter, and a base materialthereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of secondary particles and tertiary particlesof scaly silica that can be used in the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a view showing one example of a method for producing glassusing a disk roll.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The base material for a disk roll of the invention comprises ceramicfibers (alumina silicate fibers, mullite fibers, alumina fibers or thelike), an inorganic binder and one or more fillers selected from scalysilica and scaly alumina. The base material for a disk roll does notcontain mica.

The “scaly” shape as referred to herein means a substantially plate-likeshape, and it may be partially or entirely bent, or twisted.

The base material comprises ceramic fibers preferably in an amount of 30to 50 wt %, more preferably 33 to 45 wt %, and further more preferably35 to 43 wt %. If the amount of ceramic fibers is less than 30 wt %,heat resistance and resistance to thermal shock may be lowered. If theamount of ceramic fibers exceeds 50 wt %, the bulk density of the diskmay be lowered to make the disk bulky, resulting in poor workability.

The ceramic fibers used in the invention normally contain alumina in anamount of 40 wt % or more and 99 wt % or less, preferably 40 wt % ormore and 80 wt % or less, more preferably 70 wt % or more and 80 wt % orless, and further preferably 70 wt % or more and 75 wt % or less. Theceramic fibers normally contain silica in an amount of 1 wt % or moreand 60 wt % or less, preferably 20 wt % or more and 60 wt % or less,more preferably 20 wt % or more and 30 wt % or less, and furtherpreferably 25 wt % or more and 30 wt % or less. Heat resistance isincreased with an increase in the amount of alumina. The fibers may beused singly or in a mixture of two or more.

The base material contains an inorganic binder preferably in an amountof 5 to 50 wt %, more preferably 10 to 48 wt %, more preferably 15 to 45wt %, and further preferably 20 to 45 wt %. If the amount of theinorganic fibers is less than 5 wt %, sufficient wear resistance may notbe obtained. If the amount of the inorganic binder exceeds 50 wt %,productivity may be lowered.

As the inorganic binder, kibushi clay, bentonite, kaolin clay, colloidalsilica, alumina sol or the like are exemplified. Preferably, kibushiclay and bentonite are used together. Kibushi clay is contained in anamount of 2 to 30 wt %, preferably 5 to 25 wt % and more preferably 10to 20 wt %. By including kibushi clay with this amount range, thesurface lubricity (smoothness) is improved.

Bentonite is contained in an amount of 2 to 30 wt %, preferably 5 to 25wt %, with 10 to 25 wt % being more preferable. If bentonite is notcontained, drainage becomes poor due to insufficient fixation andaggregation. On the other hand, if the amount of bentonite is too high,the viscosity of slurry may be increased, resulting in poor drainage.

In the invention, as the filler, scaly silica or scaly alumina iscontained. Both of the scaly silica and the scaly alumina may becontained. It is preferred that a filler other than the scaly silica andthe scaly alumina (silica (sphere or non-aggregate), alumina (sphere),fired kaoline, talc, cordierite or the like) be not contained.

In the invention, the scaly silica may be used in the state in whichindividual scaly silica is dispersed or may be used in the form of anaggregate or a mass. Scaly silica preferably used in the invention is afoliate silica secondary particle that is formed by piling up of aplurality of lamellar primary particles of the scaly silica in which thesurfaces of the lamellar primary particles are oriented in parallel witheach other with spaces therebetween. The scaly silica primary particlesare piled up irregularly to generate a large number of gaps (voids orpockets). The “irregularly piling up” means not only a case in which thesurfaces of two scaly particles are perfectly overlapped, but also acase they are piled up in various spatial positional relationships, i.e.overlapping of part of a surface and another part of a surface, pilingof a surface and a side, a side and a side, or the like. The foliatesilica secondary particles may be three-dimensionally aggregated to forma tertiary particle. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagrammatical view showingprimary particles, secondary particles and tertiary particles. Tertiaryparticles are formed by irregular aggregation of secondary particles,for example, secondary particles aggregate to form a tertiary particlesuch that they spread from the center towards the outside, like aflower. As for foliate silica secondary and tertiary particles,description is made in JP-A-2006-143666, Japanese Patent No. 3795671 orthe like.

The foliate silica secondary particle is substantially foliate silicahaving a multi-layer structure composed of lamellar primary particles asthe basic structural unit, which foliate silica is formed of the primaryparticles being piled up in such a manner that the surfaces of theparticles are oriented in parallel with each other.

The lamellar primary particle is significantly thin scaly silica. Thethickness thereof is not limited, but normally 0.001 to 0.1 μm. Thelamellar primary particles form a foliate silica secondary particle bypiling up in such a manner that the surfaces of thereof are oriented inparallel with each other. The thickness of the secondary particles isnot limited, but normally 0.001 to 3 μm. The aspect ratio (the ratio ofthe longest length of the foliate silica secondary particles (plate)relative to the thickness) is not limited, but normally at least 10,preferably 30 or more, and further preferably 50 or more. The shortestlength of the foliate silica secondary particles (plate) relative to thethickness is not limited, but normally at least 2, preferably 5 or more,and further preferably 10 or more. The aspect ratio can be obtained bymeasuring by means of a ruler or the like the thickness, the longestlength and the shortest length of particles in an image of asufficiently large number of primary particles taken by a scanningelectron microscope (average value). The secondary particles arenormally present individually without being fused to each other.

The average particle size of the foliate silica secondary particles isnot limited, but normally 0.001 to 30 μm, preferably about 0.01 to 20μm. If the particles are sphere, the particle size indicates thediameter. If the particles are not sphere, the particle size indicatesthe maximum diameter. The specific surface area is not restricted, butnormally 10 to 1000 m²/g, preferably 20 to 500 m²/g. The amount of asilanol group is not limited, but normally 1000 to 10000 μmol/g,preferably 3000 to 8000 pmol/g.

The average particle size can be measured by means of a Coulter counter(MA-II, manufactured by Coulter Electronics, Inc., for example) or thelike. The silanol group can be measured by the IR spectrum (3600 to3700, 3400 to 3500 cm⁻¹).

The thickness and the length of the foliate silica secondary particlesmeans the average value of the thickness and the length of the secondaryparticles.

The foliate silica secondary particles used in the invention are known,as a material, as the so-called silica-X and silica-Y. As alreadymentioned above, the foliate silica secondary particles are leaf-likeparticles formed by piling up of lamellar primary particles of smallscaly silica in such a manner that the surfaces thereof are oriented inparallel with each other.

Foliate silica secondary particles can be produced by a method in whichactive silicic acid, silica sol, aerosil, silica hydrogel, silica gel(silica xerogel) or the like as the starting materials is subjected to ahydrothermal treatment in the presence of an alkali metal to form asilica tertiary aggregate particle (tertiary particle) in which foliatesilica secondary particles are irregularly and three-dimensionally piledup, and the aggregate is then subjected to various post treatments suchas pulverization and drying, whereby the tertiary particle is pulverizedto obtain foliate silica secondary particles.

The form of the foliate secondary silica particles can be selected fromany of water slurry, powder and organic medium slurry. The powder formis preferable. In the invention, a tertiary particle can be used.

The above-mentioned hydrothermal treatment can be conducted by heatingin a heat pressure vessel such as an autoclave. The treatmenttemperature is 150 to 220° C., for example, and the treatment time isabout 3 to 50 hours, for example.

The thus obtained silica tertiary aggregate particles are washed withwater and subjected to solid-liquid separation by means of asolid-liquid separation/water washing apparatus. The resultant isfurther subjected to repulping with water to obtain water slurry havingan SiO₂ concentration of 1 to 30 mass %. The slurry is supplied to awet-type pulverizing apparatus (crushing apparatus), e.g. a wet-typebeads mill, a wet-type ball mill, or a thin film spin system high-speedmixer, thereby to crush the silica tertiary aggregate particles, wherebywater slurry of foliate silica secondary particles can be obtained. Thewater slurry is dried to obtain powder.

As for the foliate silica secondary particles and tertiary particles,commercially available products may be appropriately used. For example,Sun Lovely or the like produced by the AGC Si-Tech Co., Ltd. can begiven.

The scaly alumina that is preferably used in the invention is notparticular restricted. However, it normally has an average thickness of0.01 to 1 μm, an average particle diameter of 0.5 to 50 μm and an aspectratio (the ratio of the particle size to the thickness) of 5 to 500(preferably 10 to 70). Because of the shape, the alumina scales tend toorient to be in the form of multi-layer stack.

Although no specific restrictions are imposed on the scaly alumina, itis preferable to contain a-alumina as the main component in respect ofchemical stability or the like.

The scaly alumina particles can be produced by the hydrothermalsynthesis method stated in JP-A-H06-316413 or JP-A-H09-59018, forexample. In this hydrothermal synthesis method, sodium hydroxide, sodiumsilicate, phosphoric acid or the like are added to aluminum hydroxide asa crystal control agent. As a result, a particle having a smallthickness and thus having a large aspect ratio (diameter/thickness ofscaly particles) is formed. Further, by selecting synthesis conditions,scaly alumina particles that have arbitrary controlled particle sizesand have a narrow particle size distribution can be obtained.

Commercially available scaly alumina can be used appropriately. Serahfmanufactured by Kinseimatec Co., Ltd. or the like can be given, forexample

The base material comprises a filler preferably in an amount of 5 to 50wt %, more preferably 7 to 40 wt %, and more preferably 10 to 35 wt %.The base material comprises scaly alumina preferably in an amount of 10to 25 wt %. If the amount of the filler is less than 5 wt %, the surfacelubricity (smoothness) of the roll after assembly is lowered. If theamount of the filler exceeds 50 wt %, punching property when the basematerial is punched in the form of a ring may be lowered.

The base material of the invention may contain a coagulant, an organicbinder or the like in addition to the above-mentioned components withinan amount range that does not impair the advantageous effects of theinvention.

As the organic binder, organic fibers (pulp) and starch are preferable.If the base material contains organic fibers (pulp), compressionproperties can be exhibited. The amount of organic fibers may be 2 to 10wt % or 6 to 10 wt %, for example. If it comprises starch, the disk canexhibit high strength. The amount of starch may be 1 to 10 wt % or 1 to4 wt %, for example.

The total amount of the inorganic components, i.e. ceramic fibers, aninorganic binder and an inorganic filler may be 90 wt % or more, 95 wt %or more, 98 wt % or more, 99 wt % or more and 100 wt %.

Further, the total amount of ceramic fibers, an inorganic binder and anorganic filler may be 90 wt % or more, 95 wt % or more, 98 wt % or more,99 wt % or more and 100 wt % or more of the entire base material.

By incorporating the above-mentioned components in the above-mentionedamount ranges, a disk roll having wear resistance and variationpercentage of outer diameter in a well-balanced manner can be obtainedwithout using mica. The heat resistance such as heat shrinkage poses nopractical problems.

The base material can be produced, for example, by a dehydration moldingmethod in which slurry is supplied to one side of a molding die such asa wire net and the supplied slurry is sucked from the other side.Specifically, slurry containing specific amounts of ceramic fibers,kibushi clay, bentonite, a filler, and optionally a coagulant and/or, anorganic binder is prepared if necessary, and this slurry is molded,followed by drying. The thickness can be appropriately set and isnormally 2 to 30 mm.

Next, an explanation will be made on the method for producing a diskroll. Normally, ring-like disks are punched out from the base material.The disks are fitted by insertion to a metal (iron, for example)-madeshaft to obtain a roll-like stack. The entire stack is pressed from theboth ends through flanges arranged at the both ends, and fixed by meansof fixtures such as nuts in the state where the disks are slightlycompressed. If necessary, firing is conducted. Firing is conductedbefore or after the filling of the disks to the shaft. It is preferredthat firing be conducted after the filling. By grinding the outerperipheral surface of the disks in order to attain a prescribed rollsize, a disk roll can be obtained.

The hardness of the disk roll is normally 30 to 70, preferably 35 to 65.

The density of the disk roll is normally 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³, with 1.1 to1.4 g/cm³ being preferable.

As for the structure of the disk roll, one in which the entire shaft iscovered by the disks, one in which part of the shaft to be in contactwith glass is covered by the disks, one having a single axis or the likecan be mentioned.

As shown in FIG. 2, a glass melt 100 is disposed and conveyed by using adisk roll 10 of the invention, and the glass melt 100 is cooled andcured, thereby to produce glass.

EXAMPLES Example 1

As shown in the amount ratios (wt %) in Table 1, water slurry containing40 wt % of refractory inorganic fibers (mullite fibers comprising 70 wt% or more of alumina and 30 wt % or less of silica), 32 wt % of a scalysilica tertiary aggregate, 10 wt % of kibushi clay, 10 wt % ofbentonite, 6 wt % of pulp and 2 wt % of starch was prepared. The waterslurry was subjected to suction dehydration molding, whereby a basematerial for a disk roll (mill board) having a dimension (after drying)of 200 mm×200 mm×6 mm was molded.

For the thus obtained material for the disk roll, the followingevaluations (1) to (3) were conducted. The results are shown in Table 1.

(1) Bending Strength

The base material for a disk roll as it was, or after being retained ina heating furnace kept at 500° C. to 1000° C., was naturally cooled toroom temperature. From the cooled base material, a test specimen havinga width of 30 mm and a length of 150 mm was cut out, and the bendingstrength thereof was measured by using Autograph AG-100kND manufacturedby Shimadzu Corporation in accordance with JIS K7171. In respect of wearresistance, a high bending strength is preferable. Although it dependson application, a practically preferable bending strength is 0.4% ormore. More preferably, the bending strength is 0.5% or more, with 1% ormore being further preferable.

(2) Change Percentage of Outer Diameter (Expansion Ratio)

From the base material for the disk roll, disks having an outer diameterof 60 mm and an inner diameter of 20 mm were punched out. The disks wereassembled to a 20 mm-diameter stainless-made shaft in the form of a rollsuch that the length and the density after the assembly became 100 mmand 1.35 g/cm³, respectively, whereby a disk roll was prepared.

This disk roll was put in an electric furnace kept at 900° C. After thelapse of 15 hours, the disk roll was taken out and quenched to roomtemperature (25° C.). This cycle of heating and quenching was repeateduntil a crack was formed or disk separation occurred.

After the test, the percentage change of the outer diameter (expansionratio) of the roll was measured. Since the roll is used for theproduction of thin plate glass, a variation in the outer diameter of theroll affects the quality (thickness) of the glass. Therefore, it ispreferred that a percentage change of the outer diameter of the roll byheating be small.

The Shore D hardness of the disk before the test and the Shore Dhardness of the disk after a crack was formed or disk separationoccurred (after the test) were respectively evaluated.

(3) Wear Resistance Test

From the base material for a disk roll, disks having an outer diameterof 80 mm and an inner diameter of 20 mm were punched out. The disks wereassembled to a 20 mm-diameter stainless-made shaft in the form of a rollsuch that the length and the density after the assembly became 100 mmand 1.35 g/cm³, respectively, whereby a disk roll was prepared.

In the state where a prism-shaped stainless-made shaft (28 mm×28 mm×120mm) was in contact with the roll surface of this disk roll, the diskroll was rolled at room temperature for one hour. Thereafter, the depthof a groove formed on the roll surface of the disk roll was measured. Asmaller groove depth is preferable. Although it depends on application,a practically preferable groove depth is 2.0 mm or less. Morepreferably, the groove depth is 1.8 mm or less, with 1.5 mm or lessbeing further preferable.

Examples 2 to 4

Base materials for a disk roll and disk rolls were produced andevaluated in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the amounts ofthe raw materials such as the scaly silica were changed as shown inTable 1. The results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Examples 1 and 2

Base materials for a disk roll and disk rolls were produced andevaluated in the same manner as in Example 1, except that white mica(200C, manufactured by Western Japan Trading Co., Ltd., aspect ratio 45on average) or sphere alumina (A-42-2, manufactured by Showa Denko K.K.)was used instead of the scaly silica. The results are shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Com. Com. Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Amount Mullitefibers 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0 40.0 ratio Scaly silica 32.0 20.0 15.010.0 White mica 32.0 Spherical alumina 32.0 Kibushi clay 10.0 10.0 15.020.0 10.0 10.0 Bentonite 10.0 22.0 22.0 22.0 10.0 10.0 Pulp 6.0 6.0 6.06.0 6.0 6.0 Starch 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 Coagulant 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.51.0 Molding Drainage time Second 16 17 17 18 16 21 Raw Bending strengthNormal state 2.9 3.4 4.4 5.2 4.6 board (MPa)  500° C. × 3 hr 0.6 1.5 2.12.2 0.4 0.5  700° C. × 3 hr 0.9 2.7 3.2 3.0 0.7 1.0  900° C. × 3 hr 1.44.1 4.4 3.2 1.0 1.6 1000° C. × 3 hr 1.8 4.1 3.8 3.0 1.2 1.7 Disk rollMounted density g/cm³ 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 Hardness Before test57 57 56 51 46 43 (Shore D) After test 60 60 59 56 52 47 Percentage %0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.3 change of outer diameter Wear amount (mm) 0.81.1 1.2 1.2 1.0 2.1

Examples 5 to 8

Scaly alumina was used instead of the scaly silica. Base materials for adisk roll and disk rolls were produced and evaluated in the same manneras in Example 1, except that the amounts of the raw materials such asthe scaly alumina were changed as shown in Table 2. The results areshown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7 Ex. 8 Amount Mullite fibers 40.0 40.0 40.040.0 ratio Scaly alumina 10.0 15.0 20.0 32.0 Kibushi clay 20.0 15.0 10.010.0 Bentonite 22.0 22.0 22.0 10.0 Pulp 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 Starch 2.0 2.02.0 2.0 Coagulant 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 Molding Drainage Second 17 16 16 17time Raw Bending Normal state 4.3 4.5 3.7 3.8 board strength  500° C. ×3 hr 1.3 1.2 0.9 0.6 (MPa)  700° C. × 3 hr 2.2 2.1 1.5 0.7  900° C. × 3hr 3.6 2.5 2.4 1.0 1000° C. × 3 hr 3.3 2.5 2.2 1.2 Disk Mounted g/cm³1.35 1.35 1.35 1.35 roll density Hardness Before test 53 52 53 44 (ShoreD) After test 55 50 51 49 Percentage % 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 change in outerdiameter Wear (mm) 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.8 amount

From the above results, it can be confirmed that the disk rolls of theexamples were excellent in wear resistance or heat resistance. The diskrolls in the examples exhibited high hardness at the same density afterassembly as compared with the mica-incorporated roll of ComparativeExample 1.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The disk roll of the invention can be used for the production of plateglass, in particular for glass for liquid crystals or glass for plasmadisplays.

Although only some exemplary embodiments and/or examples of thisinvention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the artwill readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in theexemplary embodiments and/or examples without materially departing fromthe novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, allsuch modifications are intended to be included within the scope of thisinvention.

The documents described in the specification of a Japanese applicationon the basis of which the present application claims Paris conventionpriority are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

1. A disk roll base material comprising ceramic fibers, an inorganicbinder and scaly silica.
 2. The disk roll base material according toclaim 1, wherein the scaly silica is a secondary aggregate in which thescaly silica is piled in parallel with each other or a tertiaryaggregate in which a plurality of the secondary aggregates areaggregated.
 3. The disk roll base material according to claim 1, whichcomprises: 30 to 50 wt % of the ceramic fibers; 5 to 50 wt % of theinorganic binder; and 5 to 50 wt % of the scaly silica.
 4. The disk rollbase material according to claim 1, wherein the inorganic binder iskibushi clay and bentonite.
 5. The disk roll base material according toclaim 1, wherein the ceramic fibers comprise 40 wt % or more and 99 wt %or less of alumina and 60 wt % or less and 1 wt % or more of silica. 6.The disk roll base material according to claim 1, wherein the ceramicfibers comprise 70 wt % or more and 80 wt % or less of alumina and 30 wt% or less and 20 wt % or more of silica.
 7. The disk roll base materialaccording to claim 1, which further comprises pulp and starch.
 8. Amethod for producing the disk roll base material according to claim 1,comprising: preparing slurry that comprises ceramic fibers, an inorganicbinder and scaly silica; and molding the slurry and drying a moldedproduct.
 9. A disk roll that is produced from the base materialaccording to claim
 1. 10. The disk roll according to claim 9 that has aShore D hardness of 30 to 70 and a density of 1.0 to 1.5 g/cm³.
 11. Amethod for producing a disk roll comprising: forming a plurality ofring-shaped disks from the base material according to claim 1; fittingby insertion the plurality of disks to a shaft to obtain a roll-likestack; and compressing the stack from the both ends by means of afixture to fix the stack.
 12. A method for producing glass comprising:conveying a glass melt by using the disk roll according to claim 9; andcooling the glass melt.